Linda Knight Seccaspina was born in Cowansville, Quebec about the same time as the wheel was invented and the first time she realized she could tell a tale was when she got caught passing her smutty stories around in Grade 7 at CHS by Mrs. Blinn.
When Derek "Wheels" Wheeler from Degrassi Jr. High died in 2010, Linda wrote her own obituary. Some people said she should think about a career in writing obituaries.
Before she laid her fingers to a keyboard, Linda owned the eclectic store Flash Cadilac and Savannah Devilles in Ottawa from 1976-1996. After writing for years about things that she cared about or pissed her off she finally found her calling. Is it sex drugs and rock n' roll you might ask? No, it is history. Seeing that her very first boyfriend in Grade 5 (who she won a Twist contest with in the 60s) is the head of the Brome Misissiquoi Historical Society and also specializes in local history back in Quebec, she finds that quite funny.
She writes every single day and is also a columnist for Hometown News and Screamin's Mamas. She is a volunteer for the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum, an admin for the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page, and a local guest speaker.
She has been now labelled an historian by the locals which in her mind is wrong. You see she will never be like the iconic local Lanark County historian Howard Morton Brown, nor like famed local writer Mary Cook. She proudly calls herself The National Enquirer Historical writer of Lanark County, and that she can live with.
Linda has been called the most stubborn woman in Lanark County, and has requested her ashes to be distributed in any Casino parking lot as close to any Wheel of Fortune machine as you can get. But since she wrote her obituary, most people assume she's already dead.
Linda has published six books, "Menopausal Woman From the Corn," "Cowansville High Misremembered," "Naked Yoga, Twinkies and Celebrities," "Cancer Calls Collect," "The Tilted Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place," and "Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac." All are available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Linda's books are for sale on Amazon or at Wisteria · 62 Bridge Street · Carleton Place, Ottawa, Canada, and at the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum · 267 Edmund Street · Carleton Place, Ottawa, Canada--Appleton Museum-Mississippi Textile Mill and Mill Street Books and Heritage House Museum and The Artists Loft in Smith Falls.
Lambs quarters, fat hen, pig weed or goosefoot is one of the plants/weeds my Grandfather Crittenden talked about eating when he was a kid near Call’s Mills. Oddly, no one in the family ever fed it to me. My Grandmother would point it out when it was growing in her flowerbeds, and pull it out. Grampy Critt claimed not to know that much about edible wilds, but get him talking and quite a bit came out. Some folks used to call it “Poverty Food”.
Lambs quarter is also known as wild spinach, and is interchangeable with spinach in your usual recipes. I’ve seen some use it in vegetable lasagna or some of the spinach in smoothies. You can also replace some of the basil or spinach in pesto with lambs quarter. Remember — lambs quarter smells “green”. Do not to eat the lambsquarters raw. I can’t remember why, and since I didn’t taste them raw myself, I don’t know. Maybe because of the fuzzy texture? Or perhaps they have a bitter flavor?
Lamb’s Quarters sprouts
Sautéed Lambs quarters with Lemon
a large bowl of lambs quarters 1 tablespoon butter salt lemon wedges
Pluck the leaves from the thicker stems (just because they can be a little tough), but don’t bother to separate out the tender baby stems. Wash well and spin dry.
Sizzle a pat of butter in a skillet and then toss in a great mountain of the weeds. Push them around for 1-2 minutes until wilted and dark green. Sprinkle with coarse salt and lemon juice. Serve hot.
Add skillet-cooked (or steamed) greens to any number of soups and pots of beans.
“Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbour”
Written by Wampole employee W.H. Brick
On the Code Felt and Knitting Company Limited Stationary
Written in Toronto, March 14, 1907
Copy of Circulation Letter to the Citizens of Perth
In all honesty I could write a Canadian mini series about this 5 page faded letter that was found in an envelope in my Thomas Code Journals. Neatly typed probably by Code’s secretary in defiance with what the Perth newspaper and its citizens were waging against Mr. Brick. A lot of it is fading and it is extremely repetitive, so I typed out the highlights with a hint of sarcasm. I could not help myself. Apologies
Toronto, March 14, 1907
When one disappears out of the blue one day, and money is missing from the great Wampole Medicine Company, one should not write that they have feelings of mingled surprise and interest 9 months later. So instead of letting the local Perth papers complain about you — you feel a 5 page letter of “Truth” is needed to stop the ‘fake news”.
The good people of Perth should know that I, Mr. W.H. Brick will no longer tolerate this behaviour and it will only be discussed in a court of law. No more ‘he said she said”! “I shall take you all to court.” Famous last words.
Please note my friends that one Mr. Danner never suffered injury at my hand and had always been the gracious recipient of the hospitality of my home. Now, however, he takes the advantage of “the psychological moment” by never losing an opportunity to condemn me in either public or private.
Among the false statements Mr. Danner has circulated is the fact that I had robbed Wampole from day one! He was simply jealous that Mr. Wampole and Mr. Campbell respected me more and they failed to notice his remarkable worth. I believe that Danner also said that after my death I would need to answer for the insanity and subsequent death of Henry. K. Wampole. I, W.H. Brick was not responsible for Mr. Wampole’s or anyone’s death.
Then there is also a Mr. Maher who had the audacity to intrude into Hick’s Boarding House unannounced while my wife was seriously ill. He ranted that her dearest husband, me, was going to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. He is nothing but a dumb brute! There is also nothing to the truth that over $3,000 was short from a Toronto baseball club when I was treasurer. The gall of the Toronto papers sending copies to the newspapers of Perth! Ladies and gentleman, no other individual has entered a community with more desire to help than I did when I took up residence in Perth.
Suddenly a crash came and I went away as per an arrangement with the late Henry R. Wampole. After that fateful day an event that no man was ever more unjustly or atrociously maligned than myself. Since I have returned to Toronto I have been gathering evidence to clear up the words these gossipers are spreading through the town of Perth.
First- I did not leave Perth borrowing or attempting to borrow 50 dollars 100 dollars or a million dollars.
Second–I did not leave town without paying my honest debts, except my board bill at Hick’s House. But, I did pay it later, or did I? ( By the way W.H. Hicks left his wife at the boarding house when he left without paying the bills)
Third— That I did not dabble in stocks, place horse race bets or run with women. I also did not lose lots of money on poker games but I did lose a small stake with friends in a private game.
Fourth— That I did not deceive or fool the people of Perth
Fifth — that I did not speak badly or gossip about the people of Perth
Sixth— That I never took advantage or fooled any citizen or firm in Perth
To the Perth physician who told my wife she had no idea how she had put up with me so long– I wish to say we are living happily ever without his advice.
To the boarders at Hick’s Boarding House that gossip incessantly about me– I know they dare not say this to my face. To the editorial comments by a local barrister of Perth I saw “Pshaw!”
To those that have defended me in Perth it leaves me room to return even though I have a crushed and bleeding heart.
In 1876 John Code had been out West for a while ( since 1872) and he decided to come back to Innisville for a visit. John Ennis was running the flour and saw mills at that time and decided he didn’t want all the hard work at that time and was trying to interest someone into renting the mills.
Ennis had an employee at that time called Sam Spender and asked John Code if he would consider renting the property with him. Both Spender and Code went into business with each other and rented the Innisville mills for $850 a year for five years. They told Spender they would try it out and would give it up at the end of the year if they did not do well. Even though they did not do too badly John Code got gold fever once again and left to try out the west once again and the partnership ended.
Linda – I am looking for information about the historical settlement ofMcCreary that was located Ramsay Conc3 Lot 3. There was a school located there and Claudia Smith told me that she had read that there was also a cheese factory although she couldn’t remember the document. Do you have any info about it? Laurel Cook
Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
So I emailed Rose Mary Sarsfield and she sent me to Stuart McIntosh
Stuart McIntosh said:
McCreary School was located on Hwy. 7 just west of what used to be the Falcon Restaurant.
I believe the McCreary Cheese factory was located on the west of the Falcon on the road south of Hwy. 7 which leads to Scotch Corners. This road is on the junction of Highway 7 and Tatlock Rd. According to my cousin, the cheese factory was located on the left side of this road not far from the junction. Hope this is helpful. Ray Lowe, a supporter of the Anglican Church in Clayton could give you better information.
The McCreery family came to Lanark from County Armagh* in 1823, settling at Ramsay Twp. Con. 3 Lot 3E, next to William Hamilton Con. 4 Lot 3W who had been settled there in 1821. William MCreery Jr. (1810-1892) – the McCreerys’ second oldest son, age 11 when they arrived, would later marry Margaret Hamilton, who was 5 years old at the time. Most families came out from Ireland with friends and relatives – or knew someone already settled. One wonders if these families knew each other in Ireland. It’s hard to determine. It was common for families to indicate only their County of origin. Each came from a village, townland and parish – but these origins often remain obscure. Having failed, to date, to find parish records for the McCreerys in Armagh, I will attempt to hone in on them below – but here I will concentrate on existing Irish settlers before 1823.
The earliest migrations to this part of Ramsay Township occurred in 1820 – but before going back to that year and the settlement of Boyd’s Settlement, I will digress slightly to the settlers who arrived about the same time as William Hamilton in 1821.
William Hamilton had been settled July 21st 1821. John Hamilton had been placed at Lanark Twp. Con. 9 Lot 10W two days earlier on July 27th,William Wilson received Ramsay Twp. Con. 8 Lot 4W on the 30th and William Wallace received Ramsay Con. 7 Lot 7E one day later on July 31st. on the same day as Robert McFarlane (from Scotland) received Ramsay Con. 8 Lot 7E, and Thomas McLelland received Con. 7 Lot 7W – and James McFarland (from Scotland) received Con. 8 Lot 6E. John McIntyre (also a Scot) had received Con. 8 Lot 8E in July 21st. and Stewart and William Houston received nearby lots Con. 7 Lot 5E and Con. 7 Lot 6E on the 8th of August of the same year. Five of these families all gaining land at much the same time – the Hamiltons, the Wallaces, , the Houstons, the Wilsons and (perhaps even) the McLellands were Irish. Lacking records which might indicate that some or all of these Irish settlers came out together, or that they came from the same place
SUMMARY: My name is Brian Bailey. I grew up in Lanark County, Ontario, Canada, where my Irish ancestors landed and took root in the 1820’s. I am now 65 years old and counting. My search for my Irish roots began when I was seven years old, and came home from school asking my mother if there was anyone famous in our family. She too had been curious about this as a young person and had asked the same question to her mother – who told her that the McCreary side of our family were directly related to Thomas D’arcy McGee. My mother’s aunt, Laura (McCreary) Ferrillwho had grown up in rural Lanark in the 1880s was the self-appointed family record keeper. When I was growing up, the family held picnics at Boyd’s Settlement where the family had landed and stayed on. This study adds to my Aunt Laura’s collection of names in the 1940s. Like my mother, I am a story teller and was more interested in the story than the names and dates. This is the story (or rather part of the story) as I know it.—From Leaders of Tomorrow
Some time in 1823, it would seem just before the arrival of the Peter Robinson Settlers from Ireland, a group of Irish settlers were granted lots along what is now the Highway proceeding east into the first five or so concessions of Ramsay.
These were the McCrearys, the Kinchs, the Dowdalls, the Warrens and the Shepperds. Accompanying the McCrearys was Elizabeth Magee, mother of Elizabeth Magee McCreery, and grandmother of Thomas D’arcy Magee.
Thomas D’arcy McGee travelled often to Ramsay to visit his aunt Elizabeth Magee McCreery (his grandmother having already died) between 1857 when he moved to Canada and his death in 1868. A tombstone with his name on it was found in the basement of the McCreary family homestead at Ramsay III-3. But that’s neither here nor there. It is interesting that D’arcy’s daughter Mary Euphrasia McGee married a Quinn, as there were several Quinns from Ireland nearby in Ramsay. Coincidence? Files from Bytown.net
A copy of the article from the Carleton Place
paper in 1944-Brian Bailey
Did you know that one of the landmarks for Scotch Corners used to be “to turn off Highway 7 at the lXL Cheese Factory”? It was a hopping corner with traffic jams consisting of farmers waiting to get their milk weighed in and upon leaving, a quick trip to the back to the whey vat pick up some whey to feed their pigs.
Local lad Alfie Poole had the answers to the local stories in those days and there was a reason as to why this particular cheese factory was called ‘the IXL’. Seems there was a couple of cheese factories down the road and no one wanted to mix them up. There was one past the St John’s Anglican Church on the Ferguson Falls Road called the “Fair Play” and another opposite the church called the “Grab All”. These were the actual names I kid you not.
Well the farmer’s around the McCreary settlement were having none of that, and wanted to have the best cheese factory in the area. So up the factory went and it became known as the IXL but was sadly destroyed by fire in 1969.
William Gordon James, R. R. # 1, Carleton Place, a former reeve of Ramsay Township and warden of Lanark County, died in Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital, Saturday, August 18, 1979 in his 73rd year after a lengthy illness. Born April 20, 1907, Gordon was the eldest of the late William E. and Annie James of the James Settlement in Lanark Township. In earlier years he spent some time surveying in the Rouyn District of Northern Quebec. At one time he played on the Union Hall Ball Team. Mr. James was active in community affairs. He was a member of Lanark Township Council, Reeve of Ramsay Township and Warden of Lanark County in 1964. He was a Past County Master of Lanark County Loyal Orange Lodge. Mr. James was an active member of St. George’s Church, Clayton, and later of St. John’s Church, Innisville. He took a keen interest in the Union Hall and IXL Cheese factories. As well as his wife, the former Wilhemena Dunlop, Mr. James is survived by one son, Charles and daughters, Eleanor (Mrs. David Aldus) R. R. # 1, Carleton Place, Marilyn, R. R. # 1, and daughter-in-law, Evelyn James. Mr. James is also survived by his grandchildren Lisz and Shelley Aldus and Marshall and Travis James. Also surviving are three brothers, Warren, Perth; Frank and John E., R. R. #2, Carleton Place and one sister, Eleanor (Mrs. Ray Bartlett), Carleton Place, as well as his aunt, Mrs. Eleanor Stewart, Calgary, Alberta. The funeral took place from the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home, Carleton Place, Tuesday, August 21, 1979 to St. John’s Church, Innisville, for service at 1:30 p.m. with Rev. Roger Young officiating. Interment took place in St. George’s Cemetery. Pallbearers were Leonard Dowdall, John Weir, George Wright, John R. W. James, Steven Bartlett and Gary Hudson.
January 11, 1980 Gertrude Elizabeth Dowdall
Gertrude Elizabeth Dowdall, wife of the late George Norman Dowdall, R. R. # 1, Carleton Place, Ontario died January 11, 1980 In Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness, age 76. Mrs. Dowdall was born in Dalhousie Township, November 28, 1903, daughter of the late Hugh McDougall and his wife, Elizabeth Fair. She received her early education at Watson’s Corners. Mrs. Dowdall was a retired Registered Nurse, a member of the first graduating class from the former Rosamond Memorial Hospital, Almonte, in 1925. She was married to the late George Norman Dowdall November 10, 1926, in the United Church, Balderson. Mr. and Mrs. Dowdall farmed in McCreary’s Settlement, near Carleton Place. Mrs. Dowdall attended St. John’s Anglican Church, Innisville and was a member of the St. John’s ACW. As well as sons Ken, St. George’s; Bill, Mel, and Leonard (Mac) Carleton Place; Donald, Forester’s Falls; Wayne, Maitland; Mrs. Dowdall is survived by daughters, Anna (Mrs. Art Ferguson) and Pearl, Newmarket; Lois (Mrs. Eric Robertson), Drummond and Doris (Mrs. E. Craig) Appleton. She is also survived by 25 grandchildren. Mrs. Dowdall is also survived by her sister, Mrs. Ruby Rodger, Perth. She was predeceased by one brother, Melville McDougall and sisters, Effie (Mrs. Lester Jamieson) Almonte and Pearl McDougall. The funeral took place from the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home, Carleton Place to St. John’s Church, Innisville for Service at 2:30 p.m., January 14, 1980 with Rev. Roger A. Young officiating. Interment was St. John’s Cemetery, Innisville. The pallbearers were John Weir, Charles James, George Wright, Dan McCreary, Bob Dezell and Lloyd Code.
New Addition to the Code Journals (actual letter to T.A. Code from Mrs W.J. Rothwell ( Mary)
Lanark R. R. 1
March 18 ( no year)
To: Mr. T. A. Code, Perth
Dear Mr. Code,
I was very pleased to have your letters in Sat. mail and deem it quite a prize to hold– the documents re: Ennis Estate. I shall draw your attention to one error contained. The *Ennis “Cresh” if there is any.
*(author’s note–Cresh-Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups – by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair)
Thank you, my husband W. J. is quite himself to-day. He remains in bed. In fact he had to as his cold affected the head and stomach. He expects to attend Mr. Morris’s funeral to-morrrow.
David was the only child of the first marriage. My mother, Eleanor, was the oldest of the second family.
In order: Eleanor, Sarah, Maggie, John, Esther, Rebecca.
I like your ideas of the family tree, and have been meandering about.
Original letter typed up in 1929 by T. A. Code and sent to Andrew Haydon from the journal I purchased.-Perth, Ontario,1929. Noted history about Eleanor Ennis mother of Mary Rathwell who wrote the above letter and why she was interested in Ennis family history.
Perth, December 16,1929.
Ennis Genealogy
Coped from a letter from Arthur Foster of Chilliwack, B.C. dated September 29th 1929. to George Ennis of Balderson, Ontario.
James Ennis, senior was married in Ireland before coming to this country. Four children were the issue of this union viz.
Mrs. Charles Harvey, Mrs. john Chalmers, Mrs. James Cook and one son James Ennis Jr. also one son David died young.
The name of his first wife not related or known. His second wife was Caroline Buell who died at Ennisville/Innisville in the early eighties.
James Ennis, Jr. married Miss Jackson and one son David was the only issue. He was again married to Essie Jackson, a sister of his first wife, and the following family followed.
Eleanor- Mrs. Wm. James (Mary Rothwell’s Mother)
Sarah-Mrs. John James, Clayton
John-later of Port Huron
Esther- Mrs. T. A. Kidd Burritts Rapids
Death
Perth Courier, Feb 24 1925 Death
In Lanark twp, February 15, Eleanor Ennis, wife of William H James, aged 50 years, 2 14 days. Born in Innisville in 1845. Daughters are Mrs R Montgomery, Lanark; Mrs Thomas Hands, Drummond, Mrs Wm Rathwell, Lanark and Mrs Frank, Edmonton and Sadie, Gladys and Nellie at home. Son William also at home…to St George’s
Cem…brother John E, Sarnia; brother-in-law T A Kidd, Burritt’s Rapids (Carleton Place ‘Central Canadian’)
1970s photos from the old Canadian and Almonte Gazette files from the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum.
I found this article in one of the old Amonte Gazette’s of Lucy Poaps and I believe it was from the 1990s. Brent Eades and Toronto restaurateur Wolf Savcioglu were in the final stages of buying the Almonte Hotel from the then current owner Hap Peattie.
They hoped renovations would begin soon and an architect was drawing up the plans and estimates would be in the 100s of thousands. They wanted to preserve the old hotel such as interior woodworking and exterior clapboard. The hotel dates back to the 1800s but no one is really sure. Researchers figure the hotel which was originally called The David House Hotel was probably built in the 1870s.
A map from 1889 shows the structure with stables and driving sheds behind it on High Street back to the brick house around the corner. Carriages appear to have entered from Bridge Street between the hotel and a two-storey storage house which was connected by a second floor walkway. The storage house is in the same location as the present retail store but it is not known if it is the same building.
Brent’s uncle, George Eades, owned a shoe store on Mill Street years ago and later moved to Carleton Place moved to Carleton Place to open Eades Home Hardware store which was located on Bridge Street.
Almonte Hotels
Almonte House
Hotels were built along Mill Street to serve the anticipated traffic from the new mills and railway. John Murphy’s hotel at the current site of 34, 36 and 38 Mill Street, later the North American Hotel, was destroyed by fire in 1877. After Shipman’s death in 1852, his daughter Catherine added a three-storey hotel to the north side of her father’s house (95 Mill Street) for a railway hotel known as “Almonte House”.
Stafford’s Hotel
When Stafford’s Hotel was destroyed in an 1877 fire, it was replaced by three, three-storey brick buildings, which were later also destroyed in a 1909 fire.
Even the former Shipman house and hotel became a pool hall and tailor shop, with the rear addition converted to the Alma Apartments, managed by Alma Rooney.
Info
The 1889-1902 fire insurance plan for Almonte shows: Rosamond Mill on Coleman Island; a series of woollen mills, knitting mills and foundries along the river side of Mill street; the Post Office and Almonte House Hotel in the triangle of Bridge, Mill and Little Bridge; and the south side of Mill Street lined with wooden and brick storefronts
The Crown regranted the land to Daniel Shipman, who with several other settlers quickly developed the grist and sawmills, and in the next few years a blacksmith’s shop, school, hotel, distillery and other ventures. he first European settler here was a David Shepherd, who in 1819 obtained a Crown grant of land in the area of present-day Almonte, where he began.
Linda, I thank you for all your research into your local soda water bottlers.
You have a great future treasure in your town. Adin Daigle is a very keen collector of Carleton Place and area history. You also are lucky to have Scott Wallace. Please involve Adin in research projects and mentor him in research. One day this will pay off in preserving the local history for generations to come.
I have a challenge for you. I have two bottles from A. Huckels & Co. from Ottawa. I cannot find information them. He has a flag for a logo. No one has been able to tell me the significance of the flag. Perhaps you can unlock this secret?
I hope you join our hobby, it holds lots of history and we have some passionate collectors like Adin and Scott. You would be very welcomed.–Glen William Gordon–
Linda says: We are on this Glen– with my Ottawa historian friend Jaan Kolk
Photos of bottles by Glen William Gordon-
Jaan Kolk
Jaan Kolk—In 1901, A Huckels and Co. was at 326-328 Queen street, with about 8 employees. By 1909, Huckels and his company had moved to nearby 181-185 Lyon Street.
Jaan Kolk This is pure speculation, but given that the flagship ( 😉 ) product was “German Seltzer”, the flag in the trademark may have represented the National and merchant flag of the German Empire, 1871-1918, which was three stripes: black, white, red. From the 1901 city directory:
Jaan Kolk—The company was established in Ottawa in 1894. Here is an ad from the Citizen, June 29, 1894
Jaan Kolk A note from the Citizen, Sept. 27, 1895 on the display at the Exhibition
Jaan Kolk–In 1912, The A. Huckels operation was taken over to become the Ottawa branch of major beverage producer J.J. McLaughlin Ltd. (of Canada Dry Ginger Ale fame), retaining the same 1082 phone number. From the Citizen, Mar. 29, 1912
Jaan Kolk—I could not find much mention of Alexander himself in the papers, except for this incident you might find amusing, Linda: Alexander was assaulted by Johnny “Dixie” McDowall, “America’s oldest newsboy.” From the Citizen, Aug. 25, 1910
According to a research book the A. Huckels & Co. were one of Ottawa’s larger bottlers and operated from 1894-1911 and then seem to disappear. Their bottles were also smaller from the typical soda water bottle possibly 6 ounces or 7.5 ounces in size. The Huckel family was well known in the Ottawa area and when I get a chance I will write about Benjamin and the tragedies he went through.
Alexander Huckels was of German descent and as Jaan Kolk said given that the flagship product was “German Seltzer”, the flag in the trademark may have represented the National and merchant flag of the German Empire. Mr. Davis was noted as one of the managers of the company.
Huckel’s was once located at 326-328 Queen Street in Ottawa-328 Queen St. E. has been vacant for more than a decade. It was extensively damaged in a 2009 by a fire that was blamed on faulty wiring.
